VIJAYAWADA: The number of Omicron cases in the state increased to 16 as 10 more, including three contacts of foreign returnees, tested positive for the new coronavirus variant on Wednesday.
Of the total 10 new cases, three were reported from East Godavari, two each from Anantapur and Kurnool, and one each from West Godavari, Chittoor and Guntur district.
A 50-year-old man, who returned from Saudi Arabia to East Godavari on December 14, tested positive for Covid. The samples of the Saudi returnee and his primary and secondary contacts were sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad for genome sequencing. The samples of the Saudi returnee and two of his contacts came out positive for Omicron.
A 22-year-old man who arrived in Anantapur from America on December 18, and his 17-year-old primary contact tested positive for Omicron. A 45-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman who reached Kurnool from the UAE on December 20, also tested positive for the new variant.
The sample of a 28-year-old international traveller who arrived in Chittoor on December 21, also came out positive for Omicron. A 48-year-old man who came to Guntur from Nigeria on December 18, and a 41-year-old woman who reached West Godavari from Kuwait on December 21, also tested positive for the mutant.
Dr. G Hymavathi, Director of Public Health, said all the contacts of Omicron cases were traced and tested and the positive samples were sent to the CCMB for genome sequencing.
All Omicron patients in state stable, in home isolation or quarantine
“The health of all those who tested positive for Omicron in the state, is stable. They are either in home isolation or institutional quarantine. We are closely monitoring their health condition and their samples will be tested again soon. Already, one of the 16 Omicron cases has tested negative for Covid-19,” she told TNIE.
The health department urged the people not to panic and discard rumours on the Omicron spread in the state. People should strictly adhere to Covid Appropriate Behaviour to protect themselves from the virus. Those who are not vaccinated, and are yet to take the second dose of vaccine, are advised to get Covid jabs immediately.
The state reported its first Omicron case on December 12 when a 34-year-old man who returned to Vizianagaram from Ireland, tested positive for the new virus mutant. The second Omicron case emerged from Tirupati with a 39-year-old woman, who returned from Kenya, testing positive for the new virus variant. The third and fourth cases were reported from East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts, while the fifth and sixth emerged from Prakasam and Anantapur respectively.
According to the health department, a total of 42,156 international travellers have arrived in Andhra Pradesh this month. Out of the total, 40,338 foreign returnees have been traced and 73 of them have tested positive for Covid-19 in the RT-PCR test. Fourteen of their contacts have also tested positive for Covid-19. Of the total 73 who tested positive, 23 returned from America, 12 from the UAE and six from the UK.